Tan Chuan Jin-Cheng Li Hui affair gets mentioned on Australian game show; panellist asks “Just because you had an affair, why does it mean you have to resign?”

SINGAPORE: The scandal involving former People’s Action Party Members of Parliament Tan Chuan Jin and Cheng Li Hui continues to have its moment in popular culture, with a recent mention in a long-running Australian game show called Have You Been Paying Attention? 

HYPBA? is a news and comedy show hosted by Tom Gleisner, who asks five guests about the top news stories from the previous week. “Singapore’s been rocked by a rare political scandal. Why have these two lawmakers resigned?” asks the host as photos of Mr Tan and Ms Cheng are flashed on the screen.

A clip from the show, often abbreviated as HYBPA? featured the segment concerning Mr Tan and Ms Cheng, which was shared on Reddit and Instagram on Tuesday (July 24).

https://www.reddit.com/r/singapore/comments/1590r3q/the_tan_chuanjin_and_cheng_li_hui_affair_was/?utm_source=embedv2&utm_medium=post_embed&utm_content=post_title&embed_host_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheindependent.sg%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php

When a contestant named Aaron jokes that “they both had affairs with Gladys Berejiklian (Australian businesswoman and former politician),” the host accepts the first part of his answer, saying they had been accused of having an affair.

However, at that point, another contestant named Kitty says that Mr Tan “is doing very well for himself because they are not a match. She’s a nine, he’s a four,” which makes everyone laugh, before adding, “He’s 70, she’s what? 25?”

While there is somewhat of an age difference between Mr Tan and Ms Cheng, it’s not quite that big, as Mr Tan is 54 and Ms Cheng is 47.

Before the clip ends, permanent panellist Sam Pang asks, “Just because you had an affair, why does it mean you have to resign?”

It was announced on July 17 that Mr Tan, who had also served as Speaker of Parliament, and Ms Cheng, had resigned over their extramarital affair. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on that day, he had given the pair multiple warnings but had “very recently” come across information that “strongly suggested” that Mr Tan and Ms Cheng’s relationship had continued. /TISG https://theindependent.sg/with-all-the-scandals-going-on-is-singapore-losing-its-squeaky-clean-image/